ROUNDUP

IBM said it will move the headquarters of its worldwide communications division to London from suburban New York.

Sears told 20,000 salaried employees they will not receive their regular pay increases in 1991 as part of the company's effort to cut costs and boost sagging profits.

Marathon Oil struck oil in Syria in an accidental discovery that could have significant economic potential for the Middle East nation. Marathon recently had a well come in at 2,800 barrels of oil daily while drilling for natural gas.

Sterling Drug said it's talking with a number of companies, including Sanofi S.A. of France, about forming a worldwide joint venture. The firm's parent, Eastman Kodak, denies rumors that Sterling is for sale.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone said it has developed a palm-size portable telephone that is the lightest and smallest in the world, weighing 8.1 ounces.

Eastern Air Lines will add flights to Minneapolis-St. Paul and San Antonio from its hub in Atlanta beginning Jan. 31.

Firstcorp of Raleigh, N.C., filed for protection from its creditors in bankruptcy court, citing total assets of $7.9 million against total liabilities of $13.8 million.

Eagle-Picher Industries, which formerly made asbestos-based pipe sealants primarily for ships, announced a tentative agreement to pay $460 million over 20 years to victims of asbestos disease, but plaintiffs' lawyers rejected the proposed settlement as too small.

REGULATION

California regulators want to revoke or suspend the license of Ernst & Young, the largest U.S. accounting firm, because of its audit work for Lincoln Savings and Loan Association. The officials alleged that "gross negligence" took place in a 1987 audit of Lincoln.

The FTC cleared two major investors in R.H. Macy & Co. -- Loews Corp. and Mutual Series Fund -- of antitrust concerns growing out of their announced plans to increase equity stakes in the retailer as part of a $100 million equity infusion.

ACQUISITIONS

Reliance Group Holdings, controlled by New York Investor Saul Steinberg, acquired 451,900 shares of UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines. That is about 2 percent of the company's outstanding shares.

CONTRACTS

AT&T received a $133 million contract to build part of an undersea fiber-optic cable linking Hawaii and New Zealand.